The smell of freshly cut lavender filled the warm summer air as the dark clouds that had threatened rain for most of the day lightened and seemed to drift further up Kaikoura's Mount Fyffe.

Near the base of the South Island town's dominating peak and in the stunning gardens of Lavendyl Farm, All Black Colin Slade stood nervously in front of 82 friends and family, feeling overwhelmed with emotion as he saw his stunning bride, Emma Paul, walk through a field of brilliant purple lavender.

It was the moment the rugby star had been waiting for since he proposed to his high school sweetheart 18 months ago at Canterbury's exclusive resort Terrace Downs and, although the pair has been together for eight years, Colin admits nothing could compare to those few moments.

"I was really relaxed leading into the ceremony," Colin says, "but I did have a wee moment when Emma was walking towards me, and seeing her for the first time, it really sunk in."

With her arm tucked snugly into her father Murray Paul's arm, Emma slowly and serenely took one step at a time to the contemporary piano concerto Nuvole Bianche by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi, as a visibly moved Colin paused, then glanced down to compose himself before his bride stood before him.

"Emma looked beautiful. She literally took my breath away when I saw her walking towards me. I feel incredibly lucky," Colin says.

"Seeing Colin was the only time I thought I'd start to tear up," adds Emma, 23.

Among the flowers and sounds of native birds, Colin and Emma's ceremony started with Emma's grandmother Margaret Stringer reading The Art of Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson. She offered her words of wisdom before she read.

"Let me tell you it's a lot easier said than it is done," Margaret said to a gentle laugh from the crowd, before celebrant Kate Claridge spoke of the meaning of marriage.

"Marriage means trust, understanding, honesty, patience, humour and lots of encouragement," Kate said.

It was then Colin and Emma said their vows to each other, promising to love, trust and understand each other for the

rest of their lives.

"Emma, I have lived with you and I love you. Today I give myself to be your husband, and I take you to be my wife. Whatever life brings, I will love you and care for you always," Colin said to his bride, who repeated the same vows back.

Emma laughs as she recalls her father's words of advice before they set off towards the altar.

"He said, 'If the ring doesn't fit, don't force it'," Emma says.

And it was this advice she followed when Colin struggled to push the ring over his knuckle.

The couple's wedding was the culmination of an eight-year romance that began when Emma was 15 and attending Christchurch's Villa Maria College. It was at a party that she caught the eye of 16-year-old Colin, who attended Christchurch Boys' High School.

The young couple realised they couldn't live without each other after spending long periods apart due to Colin's rugby

commitments to the All Blacks, Canterbury Crusaders and, now, the Southland Highlanders.

They're looking forward to relocating to Dunedin to start their new lives together as husband and wife, with Colin in training and Emma working as a primary school teacher.

The wedding day was a fresh start to 2012, following a horrendous 2011 for the top New Zealand first five-eighth, who suffered two broken jaws and a groin injury, ending Colin's Rugby World Cup dream.

When All Black star Dan Carter was injured before New Zealand's match against Canada, Colin was given the chance of a lifetime to play in the coveted number 10 jersey. Sadly, this came to an end during the match against Argentina.

Looking over to her son during the post-ceremony drinks, Raewyn Slade smiles proudly at the couple and claims 2012 will be "Colin's year", and she expects he will have another chance to redeem himself at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

When Emma started planning their wedding, she immediately turned to her aunt Vicki Gallagher, who works at Christchurch's Avon Bridal, to find her a special gown.

"When I saw this one, I knew it was perfect," Emma says of the beautifully fitted bridal white dress, complete with a silk organza skirt and a metre train.

In her hair, Emma wore a veil and special clip - a silk flower with diamantes and pearls to match her earrings and bracelet.

Emma says the "vintage garden" theme of their wedding was in keeping with tradition, and she didn't forget the custom of wearing something old, new, borrowed and blue. The something borrowed was her mother's wedding ring, worn on her right hand, and the something old and blue was a small bluebird earring that Emma sewed into her garter.

"The something new was, obviously, the dress," Emma says.

Along with their bridal party, the newlyweds headed out to a cliff top overlooking Kaikoura's Peninsula, where they relaxed for their photos. During this time, Emma and Colin reminisced on the build-up to their big day.

"I wrote a good luck message to Emma before the ceremony. When she gets stressed she can get a little tensed up, but she's looking relaxed," Colin says.

Making sure the day ran to plan, Colin raced to the venue first thing in the morning, fixing a last-minute hitch.

"We had a few dramas with the microphones, but that only took an hour or so," says Colin, who'd spent the days leading up to the wedding relaxing with friends and family.

"We've been out on the jet skis and went out on a fishing charter."

Keeping with tradition, the couple stayed apart the night before the wedding, Colin with his groomsmen and Emma with her bridesmaids.

But it was just before midnight that Emma got to sleep, staying up late to finalise the last details for her dream day, even drawing diagrams of the seating at the reception venue at Fyffe Country Lodge.

While the wedding guests had drinks at the lodge, the couple was whisked away on a helicopter to Haumuri Bluffs, Kaikoura, for a private moment, before making their grand entrance by landing on the lodge lawn.

Candlelit tables were decorated with flowers identical to the bride's bouquet, and thoughtful messages from Emma's pupils at Waimairi Primary School were written on the table number cards.

"A good marriage is playing dress-ups, because Colin could wear a rugby costume and Miss Paul a fairy one," read one.

Later that evening the pair took to the floor for their first dance to Michael Buble's Everything, before Christchurch band The Bubblemen got everyone to their feet.

The honeymoon is on hold, with Colin's training schedule for the Highlanders taking precedence. "But the first opportunity we get, we're out of here," says Colin, who would like to enjoy an extended holiday in Europe.

As the wedding rolled on into the small hours, Colin and Emma - both with champagne in hand - agreed their day couldn't

have been more perfect.

"It wasn't as tough as I thought it was going to be. It all ran smoothly apart from the ring," Colin says, laughing.

"It's been amazing," Emma says, grinning at her husband. "I'm now Mrs Slade!"